January 26 — International Day «Let's Talk»

January marks the beginning of the new year and the middle of winter, therefore, the holidays this month are celebrated accordingly, for example, in Canada and the United States, Walrus Day is celebrated on January 1 with the organization of traditional swims in ice water, but on January 5, it was proposed to celebrate Fasting Day, obviously, with the purpose of saving the body tired from the festive feasts. On January 14, in some countries, it is customary to celebrate an unusual day — the Day of Combating Procrastination, which in psychology means «constantly putting things off for later», some experts have already dubbed this fairly common feature «the disease of the 21st century». January 16 isWorld SnowDay and January 21 is International Hug Day. Besides, on the last Wednesday of January, concerned people proposed to establish Let's Talk Day, dedicated to the problem of difficult relationships between healthy people and patients with mental disorders. Canada was the initiator of the celebration of this day. Experts suggest that ordinary people protect themselves from mental illness by leading an active lifestyle, but does it always help? Let's try to figure it out in this article.

Isi Piringku Dietary Meal Proportion Estimator Applications using SeeFood Image Segmentations

Isi Piringku atau My Meal Dish Content was a program initiated by the Indonesian ministry of health to promote a healthy daily lifestyle consisting of balanced dietary, enough hydration, active lifestyle, cleanliness and body weight control. The balanced diet meal was supposed to consist of ⅓ of carbohydrate intake, ⅓ of vegetable intake, ⅙ of fruit intake and ⅙ of protein intake every time. This introduces some difficulty that every meal must be measured to align with the dietary guidelines. This study targets estimating the meal diet proportion by its visual cues using smartphone application. While the actual meal content dietary division was weight based, for sake of simplicity the proportion in this study was estimated by each food area which roughly correlates to its volume. Using smartphone cameras in Android 9 Operating Systems and Tensorflow Lite Seefoods: Mobile Food Segmentation v1.0 module, an application was built to help users estimate their meal balances proportion. The original segmentation criterion was constructed using USDA dietary guidelines and it was reduced to only 4 food groups related to Isi Piringku criterion. Suggestion will be given regarding the segmentation result. The result was that the application was capable of estimating the meal diet proportion and giving suggestions based on the segmentation result. Although, the volume of the meal food groups estimated was still low on accuracy. This was correlated with the accuracy level of the segmentation module that was used. On average, the time needed to apply the segmentation process was around 2 to 3 seconds on a Snapdragon 835 device.

ISSUES OF COMPETITION OF THE RULES OF THE CODE OF UKRAINE ON BANKRUPTCY PROCEDURES AND THE LAW OF UKRAINE “ON EXECUTIVE PROCEEDINGS” IN CASES OF INSOLVENCY OF INDIVIDUALS

The Code of Ukraine on Bankruptcy Procedures is the first insolvency law codified in domestic legislation. The legislative novelty is the so-called consumer bankruptcy provided by the Code, the restoration of solvency through the settlement of problem debts of individuals, individuals – entrepreneurs to banks, microfinance organizations, arrears of taxes, fees and other mandatory payments within the framework of litigation, and in case of impossibility – their repayment (write-off) in the procedure of debt repayment. In addition, the new Code offers special conditions for addressing the issue of “foreign currency borrowers”, which has become relevant for many Ukrainians after the financial crisis of 2008. In general, the procedure for restoring the solvency of individuals is designed to encourage responsible borrowing, start or resume business, increase economic activity and taxable income, aimed at preventing crime and unemployment. Such a procedure is beneficial not only to the debtor, but also to the state. An individual, getting rid of debts, returns to active legal work, and the state returns another economic unit to an active lifestyle, acquires another taxpayer. In addition, the procedure provides creditors of the debtor – an individual with legal grounds for instalment and (or) write-off of part of the debt, as well as improving their own financial performance. However, currently many norms of the Code and other acts of the legislation of Ukraine are inconsistent, which causes conflicts during their practical application. The article considers some aspects that arise in cases of insolvency of individuals, individuals – entrepreneurs during the competition of the Code of Ukraine on Bankruptcy Procedures and the Law of Ukraine “On Enforcement Proceedings”, which relate to: suspension of enforcement proceedings during the moratorium on satisfaction of claims creditors; removal of arrests (encumbrances) in the procedure of debt repayment; consequences of the completion of the debt repayment procedure (including the exclusion of a person from the Unified Register of Debtors), identified problematic issues and proposals for their improvement by making appropriate changes to the legislation of Ukraine.

Retirement Migration and Precarity: Material and Social Aspects

Discussions of precarity in later life have tended to focus on the uncertainties of material resources, and the feelings of anxiety that this evokes (e.g., Lain et al. 2019) as some older people thus face the risk of being excluded from the broader society. Although scholars often point to inequalities, such as those based on class and gender, as having an influence on the likelihood of older people experiencing such precarity, ageism is considered only to the extent that it can exacerbate the impact of these statuses through, for instance, labor market experiences. Here, we expand upon the impact of ageism on the social aspects of precarity: the loss of recognition and respect as a person that is at the core of social bonds. Drawing on qualitative interviews we have conducted among Swiss, British, and U.S. older people who migrated to cheaper countries in retirement, we demonstrate that ageism can influence precarity regardless of classes. We find that even among wealthier older migrants, who otherwise might fit the image of the retiree seeking an active lifestyle in a sunny location, the attempt to escape the devaluation heaped upon older people in their original country plays an important role. In their new countries, retired migrants of all classes felt that they were valued and part of a community, and this differed from the ageism in their home countries. We thus argue that ageism be considered in future analyses of precarity in later life.

Walking It Off: More Stressors and Perceived Stressor Control Predict More Physical Activity in Daily Life

Research shows that, while the experience of stress relates to lower levels of physical activity (PA), people who perceive a greater sense of control engage in higher levels of PA. This study explores whether a sense of control specifically over stressful situations moderates the negative association between stressor exposure and PA in daily life. We used 8-day diary data from up to 1,236 participants (Age: Range = 43-91, M = 62.47, SD = 10.20) in the National Study of Daily Experiences. Somewhat contrary to hypotheses, people reported spending more time on light PA (but not moderate-to-vigorous PA) on days when they also experienced more stressors than usual. Perceived stressor control appears to magnify this effect, with people reporting even more light PA on days when they feel greater control. Initial findings suggest that a physically active lifestyle may help middle-aged and older adults cope with daily stressors.

Biopsychosocial inequality, active lifestyle and chronic health conditions: a cross-sectional National Health Survey 2013 in Brazil

This study estimated the biopsychosocial factors related to active physical behavior in the Brazilian population with and without chronic non-transmissible disease (NCD). Cross-sectional study of the National Health Survey (NHS) in Brazil, with 60,202 individuals in 2013. Participants were randomly selected by complex sampling. The outcome was physically active behavior measured by performing a minimum of 150 min of physical exercise per week. The independent variables were social and psychological characteristics, lifestyle and health. Cox regression was applied to estimate the prevalence ratio (PR). There are 29,666 (48.3%; 95% CI 47.0–50.0) participants reported having NCD. Not being a smoker or alcoholic, living in an urban area (PR = 1.44; CI95% 1.23–1.68/PR = 1.38; CI95% 1.08–1.75), having informal social support (PR = 1.26; CI95% 1.10–1.44/PR = 1.19; CI95% 1.05–1.34), A social class (PR = 0.43; CI95% 0.25–0.73/PR = 0.46; CI95% 0.26–0.80), high schooling (PR = 0.34; CI95% 0.23–0.51/PR = 0.33; CI95% 0.24–0.46) as well as paid work (PR = 0.87; CI95% 0.78–0.96/PR = 0.89; CI95% 0.79–0.99) are more associated with active lifestyle in both groups. However, only in the group without NCD, the male sex (PR = 1.42; CI95% 1.28–1.57), no having some disability (PR = 1.31; CI95% 1.03–1.66) and having private health insurance (PR = 1.26; CI95% 1.13–1.41) were more associated with active behavior, while in the group with NCD, being elderly (PR = 1.22; CI95% 1.05–1.42), not be white (PR = 0.85; CI95% 0.77–0.95) and not having restful sleep (PR = 1.23; CI95% 1.08–1.40) are associated with active lifestyle. People with and without NCD in Brazil have very close active behavior, however, some biopsychosocial factors such as: sex, age, lifestyle, socioeconomic level are unevenly associated with the active lifestyle in the groups. Thus, therapeutic or preventive proposals as well as public policies for health promotion must observe these distinctions when elaborating their actions.

The influence of a supervised group exercise intervention combined with active lifestyle recommendations on breast cancer survivors’ health, physical functioning, and quality of life indices: study protocol for a randomized and controlled trial

Background Most cancer patients, under active treatment or not, are sedentary, despite increasing scientific and clinical understanding of the benefits of exercise and physical activity, such as improving quality of life, limiting disease symptoms, decreasing cancer recurrence, and increasing overall survival. Studies have shown that both supervised exercise and unsupervised physical activity programs have low adherence and limited long-term benefits among cancer survivors. Therefore, interventions focused on increasing physical activity levels have clinical and psychological relevance. The present study will examine the feasibility and efficacy of an intervention that combines supervised group exercise with active lifestyle recommendations, analyzing its clinical, psychological, physiological, functional, and immunological effects in breast cancer survivors. Methods Women aged 35–75 years who have completed chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery for breast cancer will be recruited from the Cancer Institute of the State of Sao Paulo (ICESP) and take part in a 16-week, parallel-group, randomized, and controlled trial. They will receive a booklet with recommendations for achieving a physically active lifestyle by increasing overall daily movement and undertaking at least 150 min/week of structured exercise. Then, they will be randomized into two groups: the supervised group will take part in two canoeing group exercise sessions every week, and the unsupervised group will increase their overall physical activity level by any means, such as active commuting, daily activities, or home-based exercise. Primary outcome includes aerobic capacity. Secondary outcomes are physical activity, physical functioning, self-reported quality of life, fatigue, presence of lymphedema, body composition, immune function, adherence to physical activity guidelines, and perceptions of self-image. Discussion Results should contribute to advance knowledge on the impact of a supervised group exercise intervention to improve aspects related to health, physical functioning, and quality of life in female breast cancer survivors. Trial registration Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials Number: RBR-3fw9xf. Retrospectively Registered on 27 December 2018. Items from the World Health Organization Trial Registration Data Set can be accessed on http://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-3fw9xf/.

Variability of Time and Amplitude ECG Indicators in Older Adults

The purpose of this article was to determine the effect of the clinostatic test on the electrical properties of the myocardium in older adults leading an active lifestyle. Materials and methods. The study involved 38 people aged between 70 and 90 years living in a northern city (Syktyvkar, 61°N) and leading an active lifestyle. The indicators of the electrical properties of the cardiac muscle were determined before and after the clinostatic test. For this purpose, an ECG was recorded in the standard lead II in the standing and lying positions. Results. Using the method of paired comparisons, we showed a decrease in heart rate under the influence of the clinostatic test from 76 ± 10 beats/min to 64 ± 10 beats/min. The variability of ECG components according to pNN50 (the percentage of successive NN intervals differing from each other by more than 50 ms) in older adults in the standing position was, on average, two times lower than in the lying position. The PP interval increased from 0.81 ± 0.12 s (in the standing position) to 0.90 ± 0.10 s (in the lying position). The PT interval remained practically unchanged, staying at the level of (0.46 ± 0.07) – (0.49 ± 0.07) s. The TP segment grew from 0.35 to 0.42 ± 0.10 s. The RD amplitude was 1.04 ± 0.43 mV in the standing and 0.88 ± 0.30 mV in the lying position; the propagation rate of depolarization in the cardiac muscle was 245 ± 137 and 205 ± 106 mm/s, respectively. In addition, the paper discussed the mechanism of opposite reactions to the clinostatic test, i.e. increasing duration of cardiointervals and decreasing amplitude indicators. For citation: Irzhak L.I., Russkikh N.G., Parshukova A.N. Variability of Time and Amplitude ECG Indicators in Older Adults. Journal of Medical and Biological Research, 2021, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 355–365. DOI: 10.37482/2687-1491-Z073